Calling All Drummers Trivia Quiz

Answer: Heartbeat of the People

The resonant beating sound of a drum represents the very heartbeat of the collective tribe, and in some religions, the heartbeat of Mother Earth. Indigenous tribes may be Catholic, Lutheran, animistic, or a blend, yet essentially all North American aboriginal religions use the drum as a central means of religious and spiritual expression.

In many tribes the drummers are "called" to become drummers, and go to special training to learn how to properly use the sacred drum. The drum beat becomes a channel, like a prayer, that connects the spirit of the People with the pulse of the earth, and with the one powerful force of the universe, called the Creator, the Great Spirit, or God, depending on the situation and the religion.

Answer: Animal hide

An animal hide is most often used as the beating surface of a drum. Different tribes use the animals available in their environment, such as moose, deer, caribou, mountain sheep, or buffalo. In the arctic they use whale or walrus materials, in the northwest they may use sea animal hides as well.

In most aboriginal religions they believe that the animal which contributes its hide to the sacred drum lends characteristics of its living spirit to the drum. Drumsticks are often made of antler, wood or bone.

Answer: Handmade

Because the sacred drum is the heartbeat of the People, the earth and the channel to a Higher Power, most North American aboriginal tribes required that the sacred drum be made by hand, usually by a special drum maker skilled in the task. As the animal hide contributes a sense of life to the drum, so the hands of the person making the drum contribute.

A drum maker has the option of leaving a personal item inside the drum before he seals it closed. This joins his spirit and that of the drum, forever. Sacred drums are by tradition made by men, and played by men. Women have roles in the ceremony, such as singing.

In modern times a manufactured drum is accepted, but for the sacred religious ceremony, handmade is preferred.

Answer: Roots, berries, bark and herbs

Regardless of the religion of the tribe, aboriginals use the natural dyes and materials around them. This includes roots, berries, bark, herbs and also minerals such as iron oxide, which can be crushed to produce a vibrant orange-red. Drums are designed according to the history, location, and religion of the tribe, with geometric patterns, animals, symbols or simply the earth colors of nature. Sometimes the People go long distances to gather the materials from locations believed to hold great spiritual significance. Sedona, Arizona is one such place. How the living materials are harvested is also important. Great care is taken that a plant, for instance, is not crushed or destroyed if parts of it are removed.

Answer: Messenger

For the Anishinaabe Ojibwe of the Great Lakes region, the beat of a drum is believed to be the voice of the People, acting as spiritual messenger. Collective prayers are channeled via the drumbeat. Another vital aspect of Ojibwe drums is they are considered to be animate. Alive.

The drum is blanketed, kept safe from the elements, it is fed, it is spiritually cleansed with sage and cedar. It is at all times respected. Just as other religions take precious care of their sacred objects.

Answer: Seven Drums

Since the late 1800s the Nez Perce have been primarily Presbyterian and Catholic, but the Seven Drums religion prevalent before they were introduced to Christianity is making a comeback. Seven Drums practitioners believe that "Hanyawat" the Creator, created humans and the earth. Mother Earth provides the animals, plants, and food of the earth, and everything has a soul. Thus God, the Creator, assigned a sacred link between humans and nature. Drums are an important means to honor connection with God-given nature.

The Nez Perce don't call Seven Drums a religion, but it is a "way of life". Most faithful people of any religion would say it is for them a way of life.

Answer: Amount of liquid

Water drums are hollowed out logs, or sometimes clay, plugged at one end, with an amount that varies from a mouthful to perhaps half full of water placed inside, then a material stretched over the top. The timbre of the drum is changed by the amount of water present in the drum.

These drums tend to be larger than other religious drums, sometimes a foot tall and ten inches across, played at an angle. They are used in peyote ceremonies in the southwest, and in the secret religious society of Midewiwin ("Grand Medicine Society) in New England and the Great Lakes areas. If you choose the answer external weather, that would be a precarious and unreliable basis for religious ceremony, the same as for all important ceremonies, the daily weather does not dictate practice.

Answer: Healing

Shaman means "one who knows", and they are present in many cultures across the world. In North American Indian tribes these healers are chosen or feel "called" in their youth, and spend many years in study and practice. It is believed they have the unique ability to cross over from everyday reality into the spiritual realm, and, importantly, to find their way back. Sometimes a tribal member might feel they have lost their soul, after losing a loved one for instance.

The Shaman will go in search of it. If a person is ill, perhaps they did not show proper respect for the Great Spirit and so they were struck with an ailment.

The Shaman is supposed to help assure good weather, enough food, safety, peace between tribal members, and mental and physical health, for his or her people.

The Shaman is counselor, preacher, and doctor, and uses a special "Shamanic" or "frame" drum in religious and healing ceremony. A shaman can be either gender, any age, and in the past was often transgender.

Answer: Plains Indians

The Plains Indians, including Lakota, Dakota and others of the central plains of the United States, practice the Sundance as a significant ceremony in their religion. It is an annual time of devoted prayer and personal sacrifice for those who have long prepared, and those who support them.

The practitioners ask that its details be kept private, so in short, people spend lengthy time in prayer, and dancing. The beat of the drum in sacred song unites the tribe, uplifts the dancers and helps take prayers up to both the Creator, and to the ancestors of the tribe. Drummers follow strict protocol in how the drum is handled, how one behaves around a drum and who may sing together around the drum. For instance, nothing is ever set down upon the drum, and they never reach across it.

In the plains, winter is harsh and the strong winds bitter, so the plains Indians hold the sun in special gratitude.

Answer: Cancer-killing

According to a number of modern studies in biomedical research, group drumming increases cancer-killing cells, which fight not only cancers but AIDS and other viral conditions. Drumming has been shown to retrain the brain after a stroke, integrate neural connections and increase a sense of well-being. Group drumming is increasingly used for medical patients, hyperactive children, and in Christian churches and secular schools. That's just a biological support for what aboriginal religious leaders have always said: prayer, music, tribal connection, and spiritual practice is healing stuff. Drums are connected to our hearts.